Care Ethics Otherwise: A Conference
Conference Information and Registration
Care Ethics Otherwise: A Conference
June 9–10, 2023
at Penn State University Park
Marriott Foundation Building (formerly the Oak Building)
This conference is an invitation to deeply consider previously underexplored approaches to examining and practicing care ethics and care theory. It is organized around a call to actively decenter understandings of care rooted in white, bourgeois, heteronormative domestic/kinship norms and practices—in other words, a call to think care and do care ethics otherwise. By this the organizers mean (at least) two things. First, we are looking to the margins, to the underground, to unconventional domains to invite reflections on care from those who are regularly othered or experience themselves as “the other.” Second, we are motivated to create space with a focus on reimagining and remaking care ethics otherwise we risk neglecting important opportunities to grow care ethics in new, more inclusive directions. Thinking on care has followed multiple genealogies and flourished across, between, and beyond academic disciplines; accordingly, this conference will be interdisciplinary and open to participants working both within the academy and beyond it.
The conference will take place in State College, Pennsylvania, on Penn State’s University Park campus, June 9–10, 2023. We plan to run only one panel at a time, starting at 1:00 p.m. the first day and 10:00 a.m. the second, and ending by 6:30 p.m. each evening. There will be 20–30 minute breaks between sessions and an extended break for lunch. Our hope is that such pacing encourages participants to attend the bulk of the conference sessions, and that it will be an intimate, convivial, and generative space to push the boundaries of one another’s engagement with questions of care. We will emphasize accessibility, provide a quiet space, and have ASL interpreters for the keynotes. Attendees will mask while indoors (unless eating, drinking, or presenting) and test for Covid before entering the conference space.
Keynotes:
(Registration for the conference is free.)
This conference is kindly sponsored by the Rock Ethics Institute, the Office of the Dean of the College of the Liberal Arts, the Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, the Department of Philosophy, the Humanities Institute, and the Bioethics Program.
Hotel Information
We have reserved blocks at two different hotels in State College. Here are the reservation details for each:
Comfort Suites near Penn State (0.7 miles from the conference site, ~14 minute walk)132 Village Drive, State College, PA 16803
Check in: Thursday, June 8
Check out: Sunday, June 11
Two-Queen Bed Suites: $179/night + 11% per night hotel occupancy tax
All rooms have a pull-out sofa bed
(12-room block reserved)
To reserve a room: Call 814-235-1900 and request a room for the group name “Rock Ethics Institute.”
Rooms cannot be guaranteed if reservations are requested after Thursday, May 8, 2023. Cancellations must be received no later than 4 PM, three days before arrival, to avoid paying a one-night cancellation fee.
Sleep Inn near Penn State (0.8 miles from the conference site, ~15 minute walk)
11 Village Drive, State College, PA 16803
Check in: Thursday, June 8
Check out: Sunday, June 11
Standard 2 Double Bed Room: $149/night + 11% per night hotel occupancy tax
(12-room block reserved)
To reserve a room: Call 814-235-1020 and request a room for the group name “Rock Ethics Institute.
Rooms cannot be guaranteed if reservations are requested after Thursday, May 8, 2023. Cancellations must be received no later than 4 PM, three days before arrival, to avoid paying a one-night cancellation fee.
Travel Information
The State College/University Park Airport (airport code: SCE) is located near the Nittany Lion Inn conference site. Call 814-865-5511 or visit the State College/University Park Airport website for information on flights. We recommend that you make the State College/University Park Airport your final airport destination. Please inquire with your hotel if they offer courtesy airport transportation. Participants are responsible for arranging ground transportation between the airport, hotels, and conference site.
Dining Options
There are rideshare services like Uber and Lyft available in State College, and the university is located adjacent to downtown, so many dining options are available quite close to the conference site. Because we prioritized the importance of making the conference financially accessible by waiving registration fees, we are only able to provide breakfast and lunch for our presenters, but we will have snacks for all participants throughout the conference. We will do our very best to accommodate everyone’s dietary needs.
Additional Resources
Conference Co-organizers
